Hands-free devices distract drivers

Most people think putting down their phone and using a blue tooth device is a safer option when driving.

AAA put a news study that warns drivers about hands-free technology that might not be as safe, as people think.

Even more alarming, those distractions can linger in the brain up to 27 seconds, which is enough time to blow right through a stop sign.

“But where your brain hasn’t regained it’s ability to have full focus on the task at hand. So that means you can literally run into a vehicle. That could be one of the reasons we see more tail end collisions, we see aggressive driving that’s a cause to that,” said Dave Carlson, director of Public and Government Affairs.

The investigation found that the cognitive distractions when using the hands-free technologies distract drivers even if their eyes are on the road and their hands are on the wheel.

A local car sales manager said distractions have always been around, “whether it be kids in the back that your trying to keep from killing each other and now all of sudden you throw on top of that you know stereos so many different channels, you have texting, you have cellphones. You need to limit what those are,” said Mark Cookson.

Idaho Transportation Department’s Office of Highway Safety, reported 4,781 distracted driving crashes in 2014.

Twenty-one percent of Idaho’s fatal crashes involved distracted drivers.